SL Birmingham Barons

Birmingham Drops Three of Last Four Games against Lookouts

Published on June 20, 2023 under Southern League (SL)
Birmingham Barons News Release


The Birmingham Barons started off the six-game series with the Chattanooga Lookouts with a 5-3 victory. After the victory in Game 1, the Barons lost Game 2 by a score of 3-2. The two foes had both won a game each in the early series, however, the rest of the series would not be as nice to the Barons. Birmingham would go on to drop three of the last four games against Chattanooga, and the series 4-2.

Thursday, June 8th - Game 3

The Barons kicked off the final games of the series in a 4-3 loss. In the Game 3 loss, Birmingham matched Chattanooga in hits with seven but it was the Lookouts late push that sealed the defeat.

Before the Lookouts captured their second victory of the series it was the Barons offense that kicked off the game. Bryan Ramos slapped a ball into centerfield to score Jose Rodriguez and capture the early lead in the top of the first.

Despite snatching the early momentum, the lead wouldn't last long as the Lookouts would match the Barons with a solo run of their own in the bottom of the first. The contest would stay at 1-1 for the next couple of innings as both starting pitchers found their rhythm from the mound.

Birmingham's starting RHP Cristian Mena had a solid showing in his 6.1 IP. Mena finished his duties with seven hits, four runs, three earned runs, two walks, two home runs and nine strikeouts. The 20-year-old may have blemishes on his record as he picked his fifth loss of the year, yet he still leads the team in strikeouts and is tied for the lead in wins with three.

Before Mena allowed the rest of his runs on the night, the Barons scored two runs in the fourth inning from a Ben Norman two-RBI double. Norman finished his night 1-4 a double and two-RBI.

The Barons were not able to hold on to the lead as the Lookouts with the help of two homers and a walk with the bases loaded scored a single run in the fifth, sixth and seventh. Chattanooga closed out the game with their pitching shutting out the Barons in the final five innings.

Friday, June 9th - Game 4

The Barons were not able to hold off the Lookouts in Game 3, however that was not the case in Game 4. In Game 4, Birmingham pulled off the victory with two big innings to start the game and with a total of three pitchers used to put Chattanooga's offense at-bay.

Birmingham started off the game with back-to-back innings of two run frames. In the first Chris Shaw delivered a two-run home run to snag the early lead. Shaw led off the game with the powerful momentum swing and a collective of Jose Rodriguez and Moises Castillo added to it.

Rodriguez in the top of the second inning smacked a double into leftfield to score Taylor Snyder and a batter later Castillo grounded out to score the final run of the inning. The two-runs within the first two innings secured a 4-0 lead.

The Barons would tally their final run in the eighth inning on an error. Birmingham's offense was able to score the runs, while the pitchers on the mound only allowed two runs the whole game.

Starting LHP Tommy Sommer managed his longest start of the season with 7.0 IP. Sommer finished the night with five hits, one earned run, three walks, a home run and four strikeouts. The southpaw has put together back-to-back solid outings, showing signs that he may be getting his legs in Double-A.

Coming out of the pen first for the Barons was RHP Vince Vannelle for his lone inning of work. Vannelle in the eighth allowed one hit, one earned run, a walk and struck out a pair. The right-hander continued the dominance from the mound, however LHP Ben Holmes stole the show, sitting down all three of his batters in order.

Holmes' stat line will show zeros across the board, but he accomplished to slam the door for the Barons in Game 4 and collected his second save of the year.

Saturday, June 10th - Game 5

After a terrific performance in Game 4, the Barons were not able to duplicate in Game 5. In the loss, Birmingham was not terrible at the plate with seven hits on the night but what really matters are the runs. The Barons dropped Saturday's contest 3-1, despite out hitting their opponent.

The Barons could not seem to muster up any offense in the nine-inning battle as their lone run came in the last frame. Adam Hackenberg sent a towering fly ball to deep right-field for a sacrifice to score Yoelqui Cespedes.

Hackenberg was the most prolific performer from the plate for the Barons in the ballgame with two hits on four at-bats and a double. The Barons bats were lackluster in the affair as not much of anything could be built upon.

On the other hand, despite the score, the pitching staff was stellar. RHP Chase Solesky pitched 7.0 innings allowing three hits, two earned runs, a home run and struck out five. Solesky may have been given his second loss of the season; however, his performance was what kept the Barons alive for the entirety of the game.

The other Baron that took the mound was LHP Andrew Perez for his lone inning of work. Perez allowed two hits, one earned run, one walk and struck out two in his efforts.

Birmingham was an one-sided affair in Game 5, and that allowed for the Lookouts to take the 3-2 advantage in the series.

Sunday, June 11th - Game 6

The Barons looked to split the series, but the Lookouts had other motives for the series finale. Chattanooga snagged the series and Game 6 with a 12-1 final score in Sunday's contest.

Birmingham totaled three hits on the night, while using six pitchers.

From the plate, Tyler Neslony was the lone highlight as his only hit of the night resulted in a solo home run in the sixth. Neslony finished 1-3 with a run, an RBI and a homer.

The pitching staff for the Barons was highlighted by RHP Jerry Burke and LHP Haylen Green. Burke finished his 0.2 IP with zero hits, zero runs and a strikeout. Green finished his lone inning of work with a similar stat line as he allowed one hit and struck out one.

Birmingham did not finish off the series how they would have liked, however there were plenty of positives to build upon for their next series. The Barons invite the Tennessee Smokies into Regions Field for a six-game series starting Tuesday, June 13.

Check out the Birmingham Barons Statistics

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Southern League Stories from June 20, 2023


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